In general, the present invention relates to surgical instruments and, more particularly, to minimally invasive surgical instruments capable of sensing and recording various conditions of the instrument.
Endoscopic surgical instruments are often preferred over traditional open surgical devices because a smaller incision tends to reduce the post-operative recovery time and complications. Consequently, significant development has gone into a range of endoscopic surgical instruments that are suitable for precise placement of a distal end effector at a desired surgical site through the cannula of a trocar. These distal end effectors engage the tissue in a number of ways to achieve a diagnostic or therapeutic effect (e.g., endocutter, grasper, cutter, staplers, clip applier, access device, drug/gene therapy delivery device, and energy device using ultrasound, RF, laser, etc.).
Known surgical staplers include an end effector that simultaneously makes a longitudinal incision in tissue and applies lines of staples on opposing sides of the incision. The end effector includes a pair of cooperating jaw members that, if the instrument is intended for endoscopic or laparoscopic applications, are capable of passing through a cannula passageway. One of the jaw members receives a staple cartridge having at least two laterally spaced rows of staples. The other jaw member defines an anvil having staple-forming pockets aligned with the rows of staples in the cartridge. The instrument includes a plurality of reciprocating wedges which, when driven distally, pass through openings in the staple cartridge and engage drivers supporting the staples to effect the firing of the staples toward the anvil.
An example of a surgical stapler suitable for endoscopic applications is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,465,895, entitled SURGICAL STAPLER INSTRUMENT, which discloses an endocutter with distinct closing and firing actions. A clinician using this device is able to close the jaw members upon tissue to position the tissue prior to firing. Once the clinician has determined that the jaw members are properly gripping tissue, the clinician can fire the surgical stapler with a single firing stroke, or multiple firing strokes, depending on the device. Firing of the surgical stapler causes severing and stapling of the tissue. The simultaneous severing and stapling avoids complications that may arise when performing such actions sequentially with surgical tools that only sever or staple.
One specific advantage of being able to close upon tissue before firing is that the clinician is able to verify via an endoscope that the desired location for the cut has been achieved, including verifying that a sufficient amount of tissue has been captured between the opposing jaws. If an insufficient amount of tissue is captured between opposing jaws, the jaws may draw too close together resulting in pinching at their distal ends. Pinched jaws may not effectively form closed staples in the severed tissue. At the other extreme, an excessive amount of tissue clamped between the jaws may cause binding and an incomplete firing.
When endoscopic surgical instruments fail, they are often returned to the manufacturer, or other entity, for analysis of the failure. If the failure resulted in a critical class of defect in the instrument, it is necessary for the manufacturer to determine the cause of the failure and determine whether a design change is required. In that case, the manufacturer may spend hundreds of man-hours analyzing a failed instrument and attempting to reconstruct the conditions under which it failed based only on the damage to the instrument. It can be expensive and very challenging to analyze instrument failures in this way. Also, many of these analyses simply conclude that the failure was due to improper use of the instrument. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a surgical instrument that records various conditions during its use to facilitate a failure analysis if such an analysis is later necessary.
Additionally, motor-driven surgical instruments generally do not provide sufficient user feedback during the cutting and stapling operations. In general, for example, a robotically-controlled endoscopic instrument does not alert the user to the deployment forces and position of the cutting instrument during the cutting and stapling operations. Consequently, motor-driven endocutters where the operations are actuated by merely pressing a button are generally not accepted by physicians. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a surgical instrument that records end effector conditions and provides the user with feedback during the instrument's operation.
The foregoing discussion is intended to illustrate various aspects of the related art in the field of the invention at the time, and should not be taken as a disavowal of claim scope.